


A Pocketful of Sugar

by Sheneya



Series: A Pocketful of Sugar [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mini!Ray Palmer
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-29
Packaged: 2018-05-20 08:29:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5998944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheneya/pseuds/Sheneya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray Palmer's suit does occasionally malfunction after a hard hit, or during rough days. he forgets to return to his normal size before falling asleep.</p><p>The rest of the team has taken to looking after his miniature self during those times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Best Pockets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wfricke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wfricke/gifts).



> I blame @snowflakesandlightning on tumblr for this. AKA Wfricke on here.

**Sara**

 

Sara could say, quite honestly, that she was rarely off her game.  Her training had ingrained the ability to know where every weapon in the room was at a time into her through very harsh measures.  So it was as much to her surprise as everyone else's when one of their gun-wielding enemies managed to fire a shot in her direction before she'd noticed them pulling the weapon out.

 

It was sheer luck that Ray had even managed to see the weapon being drawn.  His currently small size meant he was only really able to see, and fly through the gaps between people when they randomly appeared before closing into a new combat formation.  Flying as hard as his tiny engines would allow, he managed to zip his between her and the oncoming bullet.

 

Sara watched in, something as close to horror as she'd allow herself to get during a fight, as the barely visible figure of Ray and the bullet collided, before careening wildly to one side and tumbling out of her sight.  Getting herself back into her combat mindset, she paused to flip her communication gear on.  "Palmer.... PALMER?"

 

There was no answer.

 

Looking around, she took long enough to notice the orange and blue energy that signaled to her that Mick and Leonard had arrived.  Knowing Hunter, Kendra and Firestorm wouldn't be far behind them, she turned to the task of fighting her way towards the direction Ray had been falling towards before she'd lost track of him.  Not willing to get caught out again, her eyes rapidly scanned back and forth as she moved towards where she'd last seen Ray, keeping a lookout for both the currently tiny man, and any opponents that might try to attack her when they thought she wasn't paying attention.

 

There.

 

Partially hidden by a plant that had been knocked over during the scuffle, she saw the distinctive blue lights that shone from Ray's Atom Suit, although half of them were currently out.

 

With the battle moving too fast around for her to do more than grab him off the floor, she reached down and picked him up, using the momentum as she dipped down, to kick another of her enemies in the head.  Unable to do more than check what she knew of finding lifesigns when the person was surrounded by armour, and with no real pockets to speak of in the clothes she was currently wearing, she unceremoniously stuffed the miniaturized man in between her breasts before spinning up into a back kick against the opponent reaching down for her, then slamming an uppercut into the one following him.

 

Looking up, she watched as the man she'd kicked, flipped onto on the patch of ice Captain Cold had been in the middle of creating, before sliding out of sight through the nearby doorway, clearly unconscious.

 

If Sara hadn't known Leonard for a while, she might have taken offense to the way his eyes lingered on her chest for a few seconds longer than normal before returning to the fight, but the truth was, he had barely looked at her breasts at all before now, she knew his eyes were trained, not on her, "Assets", but on the small, barely visible and currently unconscious head poking up slightly from between them.

 

Still, she'd dwell on Captain Cold's slightly unusual behaviour later, right now she had a fight to win and carry a small,  currently injured man through to safety, and the medical bay.


	2. On The Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin Stein has found tiny, sleeping Ray, what to do, what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still snowflakesandlightning Aka Wfrike's fault.
> 
> I used something about Victor Garber, the actor playing Doctor Stein in Martin's characterization

**Martin Stein**

 

It was the time Gideon usually set as early morning, aside from a few lights here and there, most of the ship was dark.  Martin was apparently the only one awake during this time.  He wasn't sure if this was due partially to the energy from being Firestorm, as he'd always been and early to bed, early to rise kind of person, but he had found that unless he was in the middle of a major project, he usually headed to his own room to sleep an hour or so before the others moved to theirs, sometimes even earlier.

 

Softly, he padded towards where the kitchen was, Gideon kindly lighting his way enough for him not to trip over anything, but not so bright she risked waking the others from their own, probably much needed sleep.  Even with this, Martin didn't doubt that at least Snart and Sara, he'd kind of taken to using her first name after their encounter with his younger self, for some reason it felt strangely awkward if he didn't, had woken slightly to make sure it wasn't some kind of intruder before going back to sleep, perhaps even Rory, although he'd noticed the fire-happy man rarely awoke unless Leonard said, or in some cases yelled something first.

 

Shaking his head, he continued towards the kitchen, planning to make himself a cup of coffee, and to help himself to a couple of the delicious muffins Snart and Rory had, surprisingly, bought from one of the famous bakeries that existed during the era they were currently in, but had closed down long before 2016.  He'd decided not to ask where they had happened upon the money they used however, as he pretty much already knew the answer.  The decision to eat was due to the fact that his blood sugar level had been a little low when he'd tested himself after waking up.

 

His odyssey to the kitchen for food, he felt a brief pang as he realized the mild tendency towards over-exaggeration had been left over from Ronnie, a tendency the other man had, in turn, picked up during his friendship with Cisco, was interrupted by the sight of a small set of familiar blue lights on the small table inside the lab he often shared with Mr Palmer along with what could only be described as small, slightly echoey snores.  It was a testament to Gideon, that the AI responded quickly when he spoke to her, her voice pleasant sounding as she replied.  "Yes Doctor Stein, Mister Palmer fell asleep during a small test after adjusting his flight engines for better movement during his smaller stages.  It appears he left his suit speakers on."

 

At her words, Martin remembered that he'd actually heard Mr Palmer mentioning something about that as he was heading out to bed.  Sighing, Martin smiled slightly, he might not have remembered Mister... Doctor Palmer from his lessons, but he would admit the younger man's tenacity had impressed him during their mission.

 

With a sigh, he realized that. left as he was, Doctor Palmer was at risk of damaging something if he fell off the table he was currently sleeping on, Martin had no idea how to work the other man's suit, and he wasn't willing to risk causing a major malfunction.  With that in mind, he prodded the other man, rolling him onto his back, then, when he realized this didn't wake him, he decided to pick the tiny man up and stow him away, taking him into the kitchen with him.

 

It wasn't until he'd made and drank his first cup of coffee and finished one of the muffins, that the others slowly began filtering in, each of them looking at him strangely at the unusual sound emanating from his vicinity, at least until they saw the slightly lumpy pocket of his plaid pyjama shirt.  Not commenting, he poured a few cups of coffee for everyone, before making a new pot, deciding he'd take his second cup from that one.  As though the scent of new coffee had woken him, Martin's pocket began to wiggle as the other man decided to rise.

 

Walking slightly slower as he poured and passed out the rest of the coffee, He waited until Ray's head popped out the top of his pocket.  Stopping entirely, he looked at the man he'd happened to end up in front of, with both his hands full, he moved to place the coffee in front of the stern-faced criminal, he paused at the almost unnoticeable look of alarm on the other man's face, before glancing down at his pocket.  In his still half-asleep efforts to reach the tantalizing scent of coffee, the miniature man had almost fallen out of the pocket he was currently residing in and into the other man's drink.  Noticing this, Martin totally froze, before making a move to stand upright again, hoping to slowly slide the half-hanging man back in until he was able to grab him himself.

 

When Leonard's hands reached up however, he froze again, still used to trying to gauge the other man's intentions.  Not that he really needed to, it was clear that the other man simply wished to safely extract Doctor Palmer and put him down onto a nearby chair to keep an eye on until he'd fully woken up.  Leaning slightly forward again, he let the normally cold criminal gently grasp the still tiny man loosely between his hands.

 

It turned out the loose grip was the best option as the still only partially awake Ray suddenly tapped something on his chest.  There was a flash, and suddenly Captain Cold had a lap full of properly sized Atom.  The movement caused by the other man's sudden return to his normal size had pushed The Captain's hands to around his waist, almost dangerously close to his hips, still closer to being asleep than awake, Ray's softly breathed "Good Morning."  Brushed against the hardened criminals ear causing an immediate reaction.  With a start, and what would, on anyone else, be a blush, Leonard leapt away from the younger man, unfortunately, due to the fact he was currently sitting down, that leap ended up simply pushing his chair back, causing his legs to thump the table hard enough to knock a few cups over, yet doing little to dislodge the, now finally fully awake, Ray.

 

With a yelp, Ray instinctively clung to Leonard as they both plummeted to the ground.  With both their eyes embarrassingly wide, they hit the floor, silence surrounding them as it filled the room.  Only to be broken by a loud, distinctively rough chuckle that was quickly turning into full blown laughter.

 

Attempting to keep what was left of his dignity, Leonard gently rolled the other man off of him, before sitting up to glare at where the laughter was coming from.  "Shut Up Mick."  his attempt to quell the mirth backfired as the other man simply laughed harder, his humour contagious as the others began following suit, even as the man still lying next to him turned increasingly red.  With a put upon huff, he stood all the way up, before reaching down to help the younger man to his feet, then he looked at the only other person not currently splitting their sides at the two mens predicament, although it was clearly a difficult thing to control.  "Another couple of Coffees if you don't mind Doctor Stein?"

 

Still controlling himself, the oldest member of their team hastily walked over to where the coffee machine was and poured two more cups, bringing them over to place in front of the two men, along with milk and sugar so that they could finish it to their prefered taste.

 

As he did so, he received the Sunny smile that Ray usually gave the people around him, and the closest thing to a smile anyone had gotten from Leonard.

 

It was time to continue the day.


	3. A Blanket of Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vandal knows how to hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still snowflakesandlightning aka Wfrike's fault.

**Kendra**

 

It had been a harsh battle, The Waverider crew up against more of Vandal Savage's minions.  The fight had been going better than expected, until Vandal himself had shown up, bringing his special brand of verbal abuse that he enjoyed flinging Hawkgirl's way whenever they met, only punctuated with crazy declarations of love, as per usual.

 

It was also not the first time his words had driven Kendra into a violent rage.  Between this and the rest of the team, they had managed to take down a large number of Savage's followers, before the madman had once again disappeared from the battle, for an immortal, he was very good at running from danger.

 

With the battle over, it was left to Sara to pull the still enraged Hawkgirl out of her Savage induced anger, partially due to the bond they'd been forming during their time aboard the ship, partially due to the fact that Sara was the only one who really had any experience with similar problems.

 

The main problem with bringing Kendra down from her rage, was that it was almost immediately followed by reincarnations worth of sorrow and pain, especially since Savage had made a point of picking at the wounds of the recent loss of both her partner, and her son.  Cruelly bragging that he'd probably killed more of her children than she would ever remember.

 

It was during these times, that Ray's smaller size came in handy.  Perhaps it was the instinct of hundreds of mothers, or perhaps it was like a child seeking comfort from a favourite toy or pet.  None of the crew questioned the first time a weeping Kendra, wings still half out, curled around the still tiny Ray that had been gently petting her thumb, at that time unable to resize himself due to some minor damage.  She clung to him as, with an only half serious, put upon sigh, Mick had lifted her up, carrying her both her and the miniature scientist back to the ship, alongside the others.

 

No one questioned it now.  Even though, like every time except that first one, Ray's suit was currently fully functional.

 

As close to a well oiled machine as the team was capable of, they made their way, first to the med bay so the increasingly protective Gideon could make sure they were uninjured, laying Kendra and Ray down for the first scan, before Len practically glared Mick down for the second exam.  The first routine finished, Mick moved to pick the two people he'd been carrying up again, making a beeline for the door and Kendra's room as Sara sat down for her own tests.  

 

As Mick put the duo down for on Kendra's bed to rest, Kendra rolled over until Ray was completely obscured by her wings, looking much like a mother Hawk herself, her eyes finally closing for what would probably be a fitful sleep.  Mick pulled out a blanket to cover them, before sitting and waiting for Sara to arrive, knowing the trained assassin would watch over the two people on the bed, having developed quite a bond with Kendra, as well as a friendship with Ray.  She may even pull out the single, rollaway bed for the night.

 

As if that thought had summoned her, Sara's head poked in through the doorway.  It was obvious she was planning to do exactly what he'd thought she might, which wasn't too surprising tonight, as Vandal's deliberately hurtful words had obviously hit Kendra harder than normal.  In both hands she carried three sets of pyjamas, two for her and Kendra, one clearly for Ray to change into once the still distressed woman had relaxed enough to let him go.  Mick made no comment as she purposefully went to the section holding the rolling bed.  As though the other woman's presence had settled her even more, Kendra's wings unconsciously relaxed slightly, moving until Ray's little head was just visible, it was clear the other man was still fairly awake, but rapidly heading towards sleep.

 

With a final nod to the assassin currently pulling out the second blanket in the room, Mick strided out, meeting Len and Jax as he passed the doorframe, Doctor Stein had been kept back with instructions to take his medication before heading to his room.  He didn't need to follow Snart's line of sight.

 

"They're both alright." He said gruffly.  "Can barely see Mini Mouse through the feathers, but he's just about asleep, Birdie is already there and Killer Queen is keeping an eye on them both."

 

At his words, Jax's worried look faded slightly.  So did Len's, but not as much, instead the ever present expression that Len now carried at the thought of one Vandal Savage grew stronger.  For the first time ever, Mick realized there may be someone Snart had learnt to hate almost as much as his father, even if the other man hadn't realized it yet.  Alongside this surprising realization, Mick discovered something else, somewhere down the line, The Waverider crew had managed to make themselves as close to family as he and Leonard ever got.  Thinking back on certain interactions between Len and one other crew member, some relationships may become even more.

 

Clapping his hands on both men's backs, he looked between them, before turning to the oldest member of their group as he walked out of the medbay, and headed towards his own room.

 

"Hell no old man, kitchen's got at least some coffee and tea, you're coming with for a drink."  He said just loudly enough to be heard, even though the two, possibly three sleeping, although Sara probably wouldn't fall asleep for a while, wouldn't have woken up to his tone of voice anyway, one of the perks of being constantly surrounded by people, you got used to them, noise and all.

 

The other thing that came with being surrounded by people, was that you often learned that Mick Rory could be very persistent when he wanted to be.  With the softest of sighs, Doctor Stein didn't bother arguing his way out of their suddenly scheduled kitchen meeting, instead changing direction to join the others.

 

"No Caffeine Mister Rory."  He deadpanned.  "I will need some sleep tonight."

 

Mick didn't respond, instead grabbing the hands of both halves of Firestorm and hauling them in the required direction.  Looking back, he noticed the still standing figure of Len.  "They'll be fine, so hurry up Snart."

 

With one last glance the other man followed the rest to the kitchen.  He could do with some coffee himself, and it's not like they weren't safe on the ship.

 

He could really do with some coffee.


	4. Heavy Holsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something other than Ray is being carried in deep areas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still snowflakesandlightning, aka Wfrike's fault.
> 
> This is going to end up separated into 2 parts, possibly 3.
> 
> The beginning of each carrying chapter is marked by who carries Mini!Ray, whether they play a big part or not.

**Rip Hunter**

 

This had been the first time they'd stopped anywhere close to their current timeline.  In fact it was just under two years before Rip had found them all, rumours of Vandal Savage Talking with a certain group of people in Central City about the possibility of bringing his "Business" into the town.

 

Rip believed if they could stall the business transactions, they could push Savage's move to Central City, if not back completely, at least until later in the timeline.  Len looked over at the dejected multi-millionaire currently eating his dinner as far up the table away from him as was possible without leaving it entirely.  As if feeling the other man's eyes on him, Ray quickly finished his meal before practically running for the lab to fix his suit.

 

If Len had been any other man, he'd have sighed, instead he opted for aggressively devouring his own meal as the memory of the previous few days hit him once again.  The memory of Rip, with a barely conscious, still painfully small Ray safely tucked away inside his gun holster, the Time Master's gun still in his hand, considering he'd had nowhere else to put it, from what they could see of Ray, pieces of what almost looked like glitter were covering him.  Any other time, Len would have given a cool chuckle at Rip's talk of running into a slight problem, if the Time Master's knowing look as he placed the younger man onto the medbay bed hadn't felt like it was piercing him as he elaborated.  "Mister Palmer got caught in the debris of a recent train derailment. The glass mostly shattered, but some metal hit at just the wrong angle."

 

Having finished filling them in, Rip had pushed the resizing button on Ray's suit with a small wire they'd recently discovered worked well when Ray wasn't able to do it himself. Len ended up leaving the room before Ray could see him.

 

There had only been one train derailment in Central City this year... that year, time travel was confusing. Nevertheless, only one train derailment, he should know...he'd caused it.

 

Suddenly two voices shook him out of his memory induced stupor. It was a testament to how comfortable he'd gotten with this ragtag little group that he'd let himself drift off like that. Stopping that train of thought, he turned to the voices that had brought him out of his mind. Mick and Sara were standing next to him, the rest of the crew having already left, deciding to leave whatever he needed talking to about for the two people who knew him and Ray, to a degree, the best. Sara was the one who spoke first.

 

"You two need to talk."

 

"Nothing to talk about."  He responded.  He would have continued, but Mick's gravelly scoff interrupted him. "I think we both know that ain't the truth of it."  Sara would have spoken more, if she hadn't known both of them as well as she did, better than most people except Lisa and strangely enough Barry Allen.  Yes, she was well aware of who The Flash really was, dying hadn't affected her brain that much, she knew how to find a secret, especially one so badly kept.  Honestly the fact that half of Central City hadn't found out yet was more surprising than the secret itself. However, it was clear Mick more than likely had this conversation well in hand, so instead she decided to chat with Ray, see if she couldn't butter him up for when Len had FINALLY been convinced to talk to him.

 

Len almost groaned as she left, not wanting to be left to Mick's tender emotional mercies, but he braced himself, interrupting before Mick could speak.  "It's not a big deal."

 

Mick grunted. "That's another lie."

 

Len closed his eyes, speaking again, softer this time. "I'm not ashamed of it."

 

Mick's voice was as gentle as he could sincerely make it. "Another lie."

 

Len rocked back in his chair, letting his hands fall across his eyes. "We're criminal's Mick, it's what we do."

 

With a thump, Mick sat in the chair next to him. "Not us Len, even before metahumans existed, that was never us, that's one of the reason's you called me back to the team, not just to even the playing field."

 

Len's hands slid down to his lap. "Because I needed you again, I was so caught up in The Flash, this shiny new metahuman toy to play with, that for a little while I lost myself, I left the scene of that derailment with a grin of pleasure on my face, even though I'd taken risks, dangerous ones, fatal ones, if he'd been a tad slower, worse ones."

 

Mick's hand clapped heavily onto his shoulder. "And then you went home, took a shower, and saw Lewis's face staring back at you through the mirror."

 

"And then I called you."

 

Mick nodded. "We're each other's anchors." He observed. "I like killing people...that's the biggest lie I've ever told. I don't like killing people, unless they do something to deserve it, but not just killing for the sake of it, Hell, I wish that was me, I love fire, I lose myself in it, and when I come back to myself, people have usually died."

 

Len nodded in agreement. "We need each other, I pull you back when the fire controls you too much, you pull me back when my father's "lessons" gain too much of a foothold inside my own head."

 

Suddenly even more serious, Mick turned to look directly into Len's eyes. "Lewis's lessons also gave you good instincts when it comes to trusting people, whether you believe it or not. Len, you know Palmer, what do your instincts say?"

 

Mick watched the other man's face as he quickly calculated the possibilities in his head, his expression changing, morphing between his version of extremes as he compared, weighed and calculated the possibilities in his mind. Mick fought back the urge to raise his arms in victory as his partner's face settled into acceptance.

 

"Fine." The younger man said. "I'll try talking to him, if he lets me."

 

Len's instincts told him the younger man would, but Mick's last words of advice seemed to echo through him.

 

"He'll listen to you Len, but don't let yourself lash out, like it or not, you know you were avoiding him before he began avoiding you.  It's what you do when you're scared."

 

Steeling himself, he walked towards the lab just as Sara walked out.  The small smile she gave him was encouraging, only a hint of worry when, if Ray had not wanted to hear him out, it would have been a lot worse.


	5. Laboratory Chats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len has agreed to talk with Ray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you all know who's fault this is.

**The Lab**

 

The first thing Len noticed as he walked through the door, was that some time during his conversation with Sara, Ray had put his suit on.  It was odd to see the younger man looking so lost and confused inside his own creation, but the stare he leveled at Len said he was still caught between wanting to talk ,and figuring out if he still had time to run.

 

It was an awkward stalemate.  Neither really wanted to talk, both knowing they had to.  As they stared at each other, Len's hand was constantly twitching towards the empty holster of his cold gun, Ray kept fidgeting with the switch on his suit, clearly fighting back the desire to hit it, shrink down and hide until it was over.

 

It was weirdly reassuring, like these uncomfortable, personal ticks were what was keeping both of them from bolting.  Len Sat on a nearby chair as Ray leant against the table, his face still caught between confusion and understanding, although Len couldn't tell which emotion was for what.  "You derailed a train."  Ray knew it wasn't a question he was asking, his voice simply stated it as a fact.

 

Before he could fully censor himself, Len's sarcastic nature took over for a few seconds.  "I would have thought The Flash, or even The Arrow would have told you about that before now?"

 

It seemed this was one part of him Ray had gotten used to, because he didn't even flinch  as he replied.  "They never mentioned it was a passenger train, and Starling.... Star City never really received more than the basics of the news from Central City anyway."

 

Len just nodded.  "That doesn't surprise, The Flash always has the tendency to try and protect everyone from the world, by action or words, no matter how stupid it seems.  He's annoying like that."  Under his breath he added.  "You're annoying like that."

 

Ray didn't hear that last part, instead adding to the first.  "Yeah, The Arrow's kind of the same, as much as he tries denying it, except he always wants to be the only one trapped inside the darkness, I don't think Barry could be convincingly amoral if he tried, even after everything that happened to him."  He looked up just as Len's face smoothed out of it's unconsciously disapproving look.  

 

"You do realize Barry is the worst at keeping secrets?"  His lighthearted tone smoothed back into his more serious one as he continued.  

 

"I'm not going to pretend we're best friends Snart, We've only just met and if your hand was ever forced, you'd probably choose Rory over the rest of us.  But I've never seen you put innocent people in danger for the thrill of it, you usually gets thrills in other ways."

 

At this, Len actually did let out a sigh, it was quiet, and if Ray heard it he never said, he just stood there waiting for him to say something.  "I'm not a good man, Palmer, I won't pretend to be unless it's for a heist, but you are, to a degree right."  He took a silent breath, before continuing.  "I'm not willing to go into the full details with you, as much as you would probably like to know all the details right this second.  But, that man, that person I was on the train, he is not a person I enjoy being.  He is not really me, though I'm sure you don't understand that."  He inhaled again, still not sure if the nervousness he was feeling was bleeding into his voice.  "Can you accept that I am not truly that person, and that there are things I'd rather not discuss about it?"

 

For a few seconds, it seemed like Ray was going to push for more.  Instead he wavered before finally answering.  "Sure, I'm not 100% happy about not having all the info, but I know what it's like having things you don't want the rest of the world to know."

 

Len felt an unexpected weight lift from his shoulders.  The air between them wasn't fully cleared, but it had been lightened enough that they could see through some of it.  But this was all Len was comfortable with revealing to the younger man at this point in time.  Standing up, he moved back towards the doorway, intent on walking through, when Ray's next words paused him.  "You know, if at some time you do feel comfortable talking, well, it's pretty easy to find me most of the time on this ship."

 

Len smirked.  'Unless you turn into mini mouse."

 

His answer surprised a light chuckle out of Ray.  "No one is ever going to forget Rory's little nickname for me are they?"

 

To his own surprise, as well as the younger man's, Len actually smiled as he replied.  "No chance in Hell... mini mouse."

 


	6. Nightmares and Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick takes care of Ray after, That Incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know who's fault it is by now.
> 
> It also got a little more serious than I'd hoped, but you guys might still like it.

**Mick**

 

Mick was used to the odd stare or two he got from the rest of the crew, even Len would at times give him *The Look*, if he ventured too far into the pyromaniacal aspects of himself.  But today those looks seemed far more intent than he was used to during his normal run.  He paused as Professor Stein's eyes seemed to linger down his chest, before snapping up to his eyes again.  He'd gone around the ship in just his, obviously stolen,  firefighter pants before, but The oldest crewmember seemed a little more aware of him than Mick remembered.  The man was married, but Sara had mentioned his younger self had, subtly, shown an appreciation for some of the men at the University he was in.  Mick was well aware that even with his scars, he was pretty fit, but the attention seemed more noticeable than usual this morning.

 

As he pondered the Professor's strange behaviour, he caught the slight snicker Kendra tried to muffle, next to her, Sara stood with a smirk on her face.  The former Egyptian Priestess had her face practically hidden behind the Former Assassin's Shoulder, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to muffle her giggles.  Perhaps Sara had told her a joke just before they entered, Sara always took a certain amount of pride in getting Kendra to smile, especially after Carter.

 

It wasn't until Jax and Rip walked in and stared at him, clearly making a deliberate attempt to maintain absolute, unwavering eye contact, that he realized there must be something different about him this morning.  He looked at his chest, did he spill something on it during his bathroom routine, but nothing seemed out of place.  

 

He was about to check elsewhere, when he caught the subtle of Len, telling to meet him outside in the hallway.  Sighing internally, he made his way over to the other man, figuring Len would tell him what the hell was going on.  The other man stared at him for a few seconds, before opening his mouth.  "I would have thought you'd take care of that before leaving your room?"

 

Mick just looked confused.  "Taken care of what?"

 

Len just gave him an incredulous look.  "You've been walking around with a hard on all morning, and you have no idea what I'm talking about?"

 

Mick just stared back at the other man.  "I ain't hard Len."

 

Before Len could retort, Mick's pocket began to wiggle, this was when the clue hit.  "Oh I forgot he was there."

 

Reaching down he pulled a still half asleep Ray Palmer from his deep pockets.  It was probably a strange gift the younger man had, the ability to look sleepy to the point that even through all the armour, you could tell he wasn't fully awake.  Still not fully aware of where he was, he looked around a little at the sudden movement caused by Mick pulling him out of his pocket, before slowly tilting to one side, falling back to sleep, this time in the older man's hand. 

 

Len looked between them, dumbfounded.  "What is Boy Scout doing in your pocket?"

 

Normally, Mick wouldn't have said anything, but a few evenings ago, Ray had quietly given him permission to talk to Len about it, knowing the other man didn't like keeping secrets from his partner.  So instead he sighed and told Len what was going on.

 

"Kid's been having night terrors since Russia.  Basically been working until he passes out then waking up scared."  He stopped talking as Len's incredulous look became more intense.

 

"That still doesn't explain why you're carting him around in your pocket."  It was clear Len wanted a better explanation.

 

"Look, Len, I know you probably understand more about our time periods prisons, but this was on a whole 'nother level.  Nothing like I'd ever experienced during my stints, and certainly nothing the kid had experienced, period."  Mick's speech patterns had become rather intense as he spoke, so he stopped and did some of the breathing exercises Lisa, of all people, had shown him.  "He feels safe around me, even after taking that beating, for whatever fucked up reason that place gave us, he feels safest around crazy old me.  We know I ain't a good man Len, least I can do is be a little decent to the guy who took a beating for me.  Especially since we weren't sure if you'd be able to get to us on time."

 

Len felt a twinge of regret, he wanted to say something about that, but it was easy to remember that, whether he was proud of it or not, that there had been a time that he'd abandoned Mick.  And he had nearly abandoned Ray at the Russian detention centre.  Mick had his soft spots, but when it came down to it, Len was as close to a moral compass as their Rogue's had ever had.  Which, he thought, for any other group would just be sad.  Seeming to read his thoughts, Mick spoke again.

 

"It's not that we thought you weren't going to turn up at all, but with the violence they used to make the old man cooperate, well there was strong chance one of us would ended up in pieces before you guys made it, no matter how fast you acted."  Mick's words were about as comforting as he was able to make them, but Len still looked guilty, something Mick rarely saw on the other man's face.  He would have said more, but the slight feeling of Ray rolling over, still sleeping, had him looking down, Len's eyes following his line of sight to the miniature man.  

 

"I'm going to take him back to the room for now.  Tell the others, well tell them it was exactly what they thought, and that I needed to go "Take myself in hand", that ought to keep most of them away for a while, let Mini Mouse here wake up properly."

 

Len just nodded his head, he was nothing if not a man who could keep secrets, but the look of regret still overshadowed his face.  Mick decided to impart one more piece of information.

 

"He forgave you almost immediately, you know."

 

Len nodded his head.  "But that's the problem sometimes, isn't it Mick, people like him, like The Flash, they always want to forgive people like us, and one of these days, who we are, what we do.  One day, we'll end up leaving them as they die forgiving us."

 

Mick slowly nodded.  "That may be true, but it also may be wrong.  Weird isn't it, the more they have forgiven us, the less we want to force them into a position where they need to forgive us.  We ain't good people Len, never will be, but this lot seems to make us want to, at the very least, be better ones."

 

With that, Len's thoughtful look moved past him, and made it's way back to the kitchen three quarters of the way down from where they stood, where the others we're waiting for them.

 

after a few seconds, Len entered the kitchen, proclaiming, rather loudly for him, that Mick had gone to "take care of his business".

 

Mick walked the other way, gently tucking the tiny Ray back into his pocket, the younger man still fast asleep.

 

"You really haven't been sleeping until now, have you kid?  It's alright, I got you, I ain't letting no nightmares in, I'll burn 'em up if I have to."

 

Ray just wiggled a little more, before settling into his new sleeping position.

 

 

 


	7. A Duet of Circumstance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jax's turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm, I added a little more to Martin's character. What, he's probably one of my favourites.

**Jefferson 'Jax' Jackson**

 

This wasn't the first time Jax felt he was being treated like a child.  But it was the first time he was being gently scolded from both inside his own head and from the left pocket of his suit.  Gray had actually mellowed a bit since admitting his fear of losing Jax the same way he had Ronnie, but he still had a tendency to lecture at times.  A little sullenly, but understanding their reasons, he had been, partially, the cause of Ray's current, tiny predicament.  closing his eyes, he nearly groaned as Gray's voice piped up inside his head once again.  "I'm not really angry, and you did very well on your own merits for most of the mission, but I did try to warn you that Mister Palmer was there."

 

"I know Professor, I did try to pull the flames back as soon as I heard, but my control over them is still a little wonky." He replied, still feeling a little worried about the still tiny man, who head was sticking out of the one pocket his tight Firestorm suit had on it.  As if hearing the conversation currently running between the two mens thoughts, said small man piped up.  "I'm alright Jax, just a little damage to the miniaturization matrix, the suit's holding up against the increased heat and radiation you and Doctor Stein produce as well, due to the alterations I made last week, just, maybe keep an eye out for me next time, if you aren't having too much trouble at the time."

 

Jax felt a wave of relief go through him.  "Yeah Man, I really did try to miss you back there."

 

Ray response was immediate, and kind.  "It's alright, you were doing really well, and having a dozen men with guns firing at you would distract anyone.  Jax nodded, before realizing that Ray probably couldn't see the motion from where he was, That suit pocket, was, really, tight, after all.  Certainly not built to let tiny, armour-suited men move freely.

 

"Yeah, Thanks man."

 

The Professor's voice rang through his head again.  "I believe we're nearly back at the ship, Jefferson, we should be safe to separate there."

 

Jax nodded, before replying out loud, so that Ray had some idea what they were talking about.  "Yeah, we can get mini mouse back to a proper size as well."

 

He could almost feel the indignant pause, before Ray relaxed.  "I'm really never going to lose that nickname am I?"

 

Jax's immediate. "Nope." made all three men laugh, even though Ray could only hear the two of them.

 

Finally, they made it to the ship, where the rest of the crew were waiting.  Finally, he and Gray separated, Jax tried not to feel too insulted as Captain Cold practically snatched the miniature Palmer from his pocket and carried him to the lab, muttering as he went.  The man's cool persona had recently begun cracking around the rest of the team, making his affection for the regularly tiny man sneak through his mask at strange times.  Professor Stein and Mick Rory just shared a commiserating look, although the professor's was a little sad.

 

Jax's own face fell a little as he considered why.  The link between him and the professor, meant they often knew secrets they never told anyone else.  Including that Gray had cared for one Ronnie Raymond, perhaps a little more than he should have.  Nothing had ever come of it, with Stein being happily married and Ronnie engaged to Caitlin Snow, but it had been an emotion that had hung between the two, understood, but unacknowledged.  A feeling never to be acted on.

 

It was odd how much he knew about Ronnie, simply because part of that man's personality had blended into Gray's own, just as Gray's blended into some of his own thoughts, carrying the lost parts of Firestorm with them.  It was so strange being part of three people, but wholly yourself as well, and nothing you said could make the rest of the world understand.

 

As he made his own way to the Med bay, his eyes drifted towards the lab.  Apparently the suits damage had been an easy fix, because the now fully sized Ray was currently pinned between Captain Cold and the Lab table.  Jax's eyes widened as he realized that the older man wasn't currently shouting or snarking at the younger one, shouting and snarking usually required a mouth that wasn't occupied with devouring someone else's.  He startled as the heavy hand of Mick Rory clasped down on his shoulder, peering through the door behind him.

 

"It's about time."  The older man drawled.  "Been waiting for him to get his act together."

 

Jax just gaped as Rory began to pull the door closed.  "... Shouldn't we..."

 

"Stop them?"  Rory asked.

 

Jax's eyes grew even more wide, almost impossibly so.  Was Captain Cold's hand shoving itself down the back of Palmer's pants?

 

"...Do you really want to man?"

 

Jax just shook his head as the door finally shut completely.

 

"Didn't think so... let's get you checked for injuries then."  Rory's voice was it's usually rough self.

 

"I'm not that injured."  Jax replied.

 

"Maybe not, but you know how Gideon gets."

 

Jax nodded, how an AI could be that much of a mother hen confused him sometimes, but he had gotten used to it.

 

"Cold and Palmer are going to get scolded when Ray finally makes it to the Med Bay."  Mick nodded at his reply, the pyromaniac grinning wickedly as the image of Gideon tutting at a cowed looking Len and Ray passed through his mind.

 

"Ain't that the truth." He laughed.  "I hope we get video of it."

 

Jax found himself giggling as well.  "But not video from the Lab, there are some things I'd rather not see."

 

Mick's first response was so soft, Jax couldn't make it out.

 

"Pardon?"  He enquired.

 

"Nothing kid, nothing."  He stared as the older man clammed up on him, but decided not to push his luck.

 

"Fair Enough."

 

They stopped outside the Med Bay, ready to go their separate ways.  Mick piped up as he walked away.  "You know, those two work surprisingly well together."

 

Jax didn't respond, knowing that Mick was already no longer listening to him.  But he did agree, Ray and Captain Cold really did balance each other out surprisingly well.

 

He liked that.


	8. In the Hoodie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len Is a little too protective at times.

**Len**

 

It had been a week since Len had finally made a move on Ray, Mick sighed as he looked over to where the two were, before firing another wave of superheated energy at the small group of men currently chasing them.  Ray's speaker enhanced voice was letting Len know just what he thought of the current situation he was in.  "I'm perfectly fine, it was a glancing blow, not even a hint of damage."

 

"Still not letting you get down Boy Scout."  At Len's reply, a tiny, indignant head popped over the top of his head, peering from under the hood of his parka.  

 

"There's only five people chasing us right now, if you just let me down, I could take out most of them with a solid blaster hit."  You could tell he was pouting even with the tinny distortion his communication system gave his voice.

 

"There's three of them now, and it's still not happening, you can get down when we get back to the ship."  Mick rolled his eyes at Len's obvious overprotectiveness, it was both a good and a bad thing that Ray was gentler than most of the people they knew.  Even Lisa would have told her older brother off, at the very least, by this time.

 

Ray's quiet huff before he nestled down into the fluffy lining of Len's parka hood, told Mick that he was going to leave it for now, since they were running away from people.  The younger man was definitely, finally ready to have words once they got back on board however.

 

Mick watched as the Len's Cold Gun froze their last pursuer until he shattered into pieces on the ground, the other two having been taken care of during the two men's little arguement.

 

Finally rid of their pursuers, they made their way to the ship.  Back on board, Len pulled his parka off, but before he could reach into the hood, Ray jumped out by himself and resized.  Mick vaguely noted that, even in a huffy rage, Palmer still resembled some sort of puppy.

 

"You can't keep doing this Leonard."  Mick winced as his partners full first name passed through Ray's lips, obviously running just short of his entire name being spoken.  "We're a team, you can't just tuck me away every time something goes slightly wrong."

 

His bit out, Ray proceeded to storm towards the lab area before Len could respond.  This, of course, didn't mean Len was willing to let him go. Only stopping long enough to pass his cold gun over to Mick, he chased after the younger man.

 

Mick just watched as they both disappeared into the laboratory door, before moving to place his and Len's weapons into their proper place.  Nearly ready to make his way to the flight deck, he paused as the sound of the Lab door reopening drew his eyes back towards it.  Surely they hadn't finished arguing just yet?  The sight of a gray, almost white head of hair, making it's way out of the lab, closely followed by loud shouting, told him that, no, the argument hadn't actually finished yet, it had just just driven one Martin Stein out in the search of some peace and quiet instead.

 

"Come on, old man."  He shouted at the oncoming scientist.  "We can have something to eat while we wait for them to finish."  At the other man's nod, he changed his direction from towards the flight deck to the dining area.  Rip and the others could wait for them.  

 

As if she could read minds, Gideon's electronic voice piped up.  "As long as you make sure that all three of you make the trip to the medical area within the next few hours...."

 

Mick wasn't sure if it was her programing, but her gentle suggestion still seemed vaguely threatening to his ears.  "Yeah, Sure thing, we'll make sure."

 

"Very well Mister Rory."

 

Turning around, he noticed that the oldest member of their group had caught up with him during his conversation with the AI, and was waiting patiently next to him.

 

"She's very considerate of her crew, isn't she Mister Rory."  He wasn't sure if it was the older man's tendency to be part of someone who was actual fire at times, but Mick always found himself strangely soothed by his presence.  Although, at the moment, he actually sounded a little petulant as he continued.  "Unlike some people."

 

Mick nodded, normally, he'd defend at least one of the two men currently at odds in the lab, but the professor had clearly just been ousted from something he considered very important by their little spat, so he decided to leave it be.  Besides, technically, they could have chosen just about anywhere else to have their confrontation, and the older man had mentioned he needed to do something in the lab while they were out, so he couldn't really blame him for being a little grouchy.

 

Instead he followed as the other man made his way to the dining area.  Standing at the door, he watched as the older man opened the bread box, before closing it with a slightly grumpy sigh and rummaged through the fridge, pulling out ham, cheese and tomatoes, along with an assortment of sandwich supplies, including a salad mix, before finally opening the freezer to take out some more bread.  Mick didn't blink as the other man stared at the frozen pizza for a few too many seconds, before closing the freezer door.

 

The team had gotten used to the oldest member avoiding that particular food item when it was stocked.  It was strange however, as, during the times someone else pulled it out, he thoroughly enjoyed pizza, he simply refused to get it for himself.  Jax probably knew his reasons, given their weird little connection, but even Mick knew not to pry into someone else's business via a third person, unless it put his team in danger.

 

"We can make sandwiches."  Mick jumped a little as the other man suddenly spoke near his ear.  

 

"The bread will need to thaw before we can eat them, but it shouldn't take too long.  It's kind of easier to spread the butter without squashing the bread if it's still a little frozen anyway."

 

It was clear by the end of his sentence, that the professor was talking as much to himself as to Mick, but Mick nodded anyway.  "True."

 

Before joining him in silently putting together the food.  As he finished putting together his last one, he noticed the older man's eyes glazing over slightly while finishing making his own, after a couple seconds he blinked, before making a second, larger batch.  Not long after, Jax walked into the room, Sara not too far behind.  Sometimes Jax and Doctor Stein's mental link freaked Mick out.  Not even phased, the gray haired man calmly split the second batch in two and passed them over to the two people sitting down in the nearby seats.

 

Knowing they'd passed by the lab to get to the dining area, both the priorly seated men looked at the two questioningly.  Sara was the one who responded to the unasked question.  "Not yet, still fighting at the moment."

 

Getting the answer they about expected, the group returned to the task of eating the food.  No one spoke as they all devoured their first sandwich, but halfway through their second ones, they started chatting about various things, avoiding comments about the fight probably still going on not far from where they sat, they discussed the weather, fire, preferred weapons, time travel and possible paradoxes and who makes a better pancake instead.  It was weird how this constituted casual conversation, but when you considered the group they were with, it made quite a bit of sense.

 

Finally, as the food began to run out, so did the conversation, everyone grunting or sighing as they leant back, they're stomachs full.

 

Though they'd been the last to arrive, both Jax and Sara got up first to leave.  Sara had her slightly terrifying grin on as she said.  "Come on, I think we need to get you trained up a little."

 

Jax didn't look nearly as scared as he should have while he was walking out the door.  Mick turned towards Stein, the older man just looked back.  "As long as she leaves him in one piece, it should be fine.  Besides, I'll feel it if things get a little out of hand."

 

Mick didn't reply, preferring to remain silent as he continued digesting part of his meal.  After a bit longer, Professor Stein stood up as well, moving around the table, he picked up the plates they'd used and put them into the sink.  He then turned towards where Mick sat.  "You coming?"

 

Mick nodded and stood up, dusting a few crumbs off before following the older man back towards the lab, planning to split off and head to the med bay, hopefully with the now argued out Len and Ray, before Gideon gave another, friendly reminder.

 

It seemed like it could work, as the lab was now silent as the oldest team member walked through the door.  However, the silence was broken by an angry roar, that didn't come from either Ray or Len.  As he watched, he saw both younger men being unceremoniously pushed through the door, neither of them were fully dressed.  The angry cry following them out, gave Mick a good impression of why Stein had thrown them out in a tizzy, rather than quietly closing the door like he usually did when he caught them, "romancing", in the lab.

 

"YOU DON'T MAKE OUT ACROSS OTHER PEOPLE'S NOTES DOCTOR PALMER, MISTER SNART."

 

There was a pause as the older man stomped back out with the rest of two men's clothes in hand, followed by a growl of discontent as the good professor reached up and pulled about three pages, filled with his writing, off of where they were sticking to Palmer's sweaty back.

 

With one more shove, both men were completely outside the lab door.  Ray looking a little sheepish, Len just looking peeved that he'd been, essentially, cock-blocked by an angry professor.

 

Staring at the amused look on Mick's face, Len's only response was fairly normal for him.  "Shut up Mick."  before he grabbed Ray's hand and hauled him off to the sleeping area.

 

Mick just grunted and made his third U-turn of the day, no way was he going to try and get them to go to the med lab with him just yet, best to get himself checked, and let Gideon make them attend later, he wasn't willing to incur her politely worded wrath, because they wanted to have makeup sex.

 

Maybe he'd see how Jax was doing with Sara after his check up as well.  their practise fighting would probably be quieter than Ray was once Len really started going at it.  That boy got loud.

 

Yes, best to leave them be.


	9. Atomic Reversal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is why you don't steal Ray's things.

**Ray**

 

It was unusual for Ray to be the one running around shouting at seemingly thin air, that somehow answered back.  But, everyone on the ship calmed when they could see the small bulge moving about in his pocket, before a head, clad in what was usually Ray's suit, poked out over the top.

 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU."  he hollered at his pocket bound passenger.

 

Barely flinching, the tiny man he was yelling at piped up in a cool, familiar drawl, slightly distorted by the suit's speakers.  "I told you I needed to borrow it to do a solo mission, to get something Hunter thought we might need against Savage."  Leonard Snart sounded slightly put out, if you could ever consider him in that position, about his current situation.

 

"And I told you no Mister Snart."  Ray's use of Leonard's last name, did make the older man flinch.  Ray's face softened slightly as he felt it against his leg, before he steeled himself.  "If you had actually listened, you would have known why as well.  And NOT stolen my suit before I had a chance to repair it."

 

"Can you just fix this, please?"  Ray's face softened again as Len's small voice floated up towards his ears, the other man rarely said please to anyone, so he knew how unnerved the other man must be feeling, having never been this tiny and defenseless in his life, even as a child.

 

"I'll see what I can do, but I'm used to working on the suit when I'm inside it during these situations, so I may need to improvise."

 

Leaving Len in his pocket for now, he made his way to the Lab, meeting Martin Stein at the door.  The older man was nose deep in some research he'd written out, but he paused to glare dubiously at the younger man, clearly remembering the last time he'd left the two of them alone in the lab, before eyeing the still small, suit clad, former super villain inside his pocket.  While he didn't make a big show of it, he rather obviously turned back into the lab and picked up his array of notes on whatever it was he happened to be researching and made his back out the door.

 

"The large magnifying lense on the left-hand table, should let you see what needs to be adjusted Doctor Palmer."  He said, rather gently, considering his still dubious look.

 

Ray just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as the professor calmly stalked into the hallway.  "Thanks Professor Stein."

 

Moving to where the older man had indicated, he pulled Len out of his pocket and gently placed him on the table, before going to the small tool box that held the necessary items to fix the suit, they looked tiny in his currently normal sized hands, but the magnifying glass should help with the job he needed to do.

 

With everything together, he sauntered back to the table to get to work on his suit, that was still holding Len.

 

Looking up as the younger man arrived, Len couldn't help but comment on the suit.  "You know, you made it quite flexible, I was a bit worried it might not fit me well, but it moves enough to fit almost anyone I would think."

 

Ray nodded.  "I was planning on having it be usable to everyone on the team, should it become necessary."

 

Len's voice sounded like it had a smirk as Ray maneuvered the magnifying lense over him.  "So you were planning on letting me wear it eventually."

Ray smirked back, though it probably looked far less terrifying than Len's usual one when he was properly sized.  "Yes, and if you had waited for it, Mini Mouse, you wouldn't currently be sitting your teensy ass on a table, waiting for me to repair you out of your current situation."

 

Len was silent for a second.  "Touche."  He replied, before continuing on.  "You know, I think you and Mick are hanging around each other a bit too much sometimes."

 

"We have become friendly recently."  The younger man responded, still working on the suit Len was wearing.  "Ah, found it." he shouted as he exposed the faulty wiring.  "Oh dear, I may need the welder for this."

 

His hand quickly grabbed Len as the older man stood up, seemingly ready to bolt off the table.  "Don't worry, I've had to do this a few times myself, the suit will protect you from most of the heat."

 

Ray didn't need to see Len's face, to know he was raising a dubious eyebrow.  "Most of the heat?"  Ray nodded.  "You might feel a little warm, but the heat won't burn you."

 

Still dubious, but willing to let him go ahead, Len lay on his back, letting the younger man have full access to the area that needed repairs.  Trying to be a gentle as possible, Ray set the welder's required temperature away from the Len and the suit, making sure it was as cool as it could possibly be and still seal the required wiring together before bringing it back towards the suit.  The tension in Len's body could still be seen, even through the suit.

 

Trying to distract the man, but not able to fully consider his sentence, Ray started to babble.  "You know, it's interesting how you and Mick became partners, what, with being complete opposites.  You don't like getting too warm, Mick hates the cold.  You plan everything, Mick just lets things go where they will."

 

For a few seconds, he was worried he'd spoken about the wrong thing, but, strangely, Len actually seemed to relax as he babbled on.  Continuing his directionless nattering, he was eventually able to fix the suit with little trouble.  Taking one last look at his handiwork, he nodded.  "Alright, let me get you on the floor and we'll see if you can get back to your normal size."

 

That said he scooped Len up from where he lay, and gently put him on the floor, away from any tables or chairs he might run into as he resized himself.  After a few seconds, there was the usual rush of displaced air, followed by a rapidly growing light show, before Len was standing in front of him, now his normal size.  Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by Len's sudden removal of the helmet, followed by His lips pushing insistently against Ray's own.

 

Ray braced himself, as the sudden impact pinned him to the table standing behind them, glad that Rip had, essentially, screwed the lab tables down, which meant it didn't slide out from under them.  His muffled.  "The hell Len." was drowned out as the older man's right hand grasped behind his head, he was practically licking the other man's lips open, leaving him gasping and panting as the older man then proceeded to devour his entire mouth.

 

With a wrench, Len pulled away as Ray's one free hand slide around his waist.  "Do you have any idea how good you looked when you were focused on me?"

 

Ray didn't get to answer as Len's lips crashed back against his own, making him grow limp and pliant as his mouth was, once again, thoroughly explored.  As if it pained him, Len pulled away again.  "I'm going to take this suit off, then, in deference to the good professor, we're going to my quarters,  Once we get there, I swear I'm going to make you wail, Ray."

 

Ray panted quietly as Len did just that.  Pausing only when he noticed exactly what Len had said.  "In deference to the professor?  Doesn't sound like you."

 

Len smirked as he latched onto Ray's arm.  "The man is one half of a person who can set themselves alight without injuring themselves, even I know not to get on his bad side too often."

 

Ray just nodded as he was hauled to Len's room.

 

He did end up wailing that evening.

 


End file.
